Men's Basketball

Men's Basketball Defeats Bridgewater State, 81-62

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team outscored visiting Bridgewater State, 20-11, during a period of six and a half minutes late in the second half and went on to defeat the Bears, 81-62, in a non-conference game between two nationally ranked teams at the Tripp Athletic Center Wednesday evening.

UMass Dartmouth started off quickly, getting three-pointers from Rose and sophomore forward Tom Henneberry (Lexington, MA/Lexington HS) and a pair of treys from junior forward Brandon Stephens (Dorchester, MA/Newton North HS) to build an early 20-6 lead. The Bears came back with a 14-8 run, with Motta hitting a pair of three-pointers and a layup, to make it 28-20 with 4:27 left in the first half. A three-point play and subsequent layup by BSC senior center Chris Dijak (Lunenburg, MA/Lunenburg HS) made it 31-27 with1:07 left in the first half, but Greene and Rose hit layups to allow the Corsairs to stretch their advantage to eight points at the intermission.

"We wanted to wear them down, and with Tom Henneberry and Brandon Shelton coming off injuries and providing depth coming off the bench, it is to our advantage," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Brian Baptiste. "I thought we played our best basketball in the last six minutes, and that's when you have to play your best. Our perimeter guys took advantage of what was given to them, as their defense was sagging back, and we hit some open shots. It was a little sloppy, but I thought it was a great ballgame, and we're happy with the outcome."

Stephens led UMass Dartmouth with 20 points; Greene added 15 and Rose contributed 12. Motta had 17 for BSC, Dijak had 13, McLaughlin added 11 and junior forward Judah Jackson (Everett, MA/Everett HS) had 10. Henneberry and Jackson each had eight rebounds as the teams split the battle of the boards with 32 apiece. The Corsairs made 65.5 per cent of their shots from the field in the second half and held the Bears to 37.5 per cent.

The Corsairs improved to 4-1 with the victory, while the Bears dropped to 3-2 with the defeat. UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they visit Plymouth State in their Little East Conference opener Saturday afternoon. Bridgewater will host Wheaton Saturday.